I do not wish to dispute the success of Baldy Hughes as described in Friday's editorial "Little Big Man." I do dispute the statements made about other treatment centres, seemingly in an effort to make Baldy Hughes look better.
As a social worker who was employed in the addiction field for many years, I know that there is a need for a wide range of services which support individuals throughout their recovery process. Services such as detox, residential programs like Nechako Centre, supportive recovery homes like St. Pat's (which provides long-term housing and information about how to stay clean and sober) and self-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are the key parts of the continuum. And then here in Prince George the DART program was created by Bob Scott to help those in recovery find employment.
Scott's story has been reported many times in The Citizen. He was just one of the many people who have turned their lives around using existing programs. Let's welcome Baldy Hughes to the continuum of treatment services while celebrating all of them, and honouring each individual who succeeds in overcoming the challenge of addiction.
If any program is to be given top billing, it should be the self-help groups such as AA and NA (which accept no funding from anyone except members). I don't know this to be a fact, but am willing to bet that maintaining involvement in AA or NA is what Baldy Hughes teaches people so they can stay clean and sober after they leave the program. They may be a new and exciting program but they still need the support of other services.
Beth Quesnel
Prince George
